Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Two Bloggers One Book - Optical Delusion by Hunter Shea

This month Stormi and I are sharing our thoughts on yet another book by an author we are both starting to really enjoy, Hunter Shea. In fact, next month's selection happens to be from him as well. I think we are both in the mood for some good old-fashioned horror. Anyway, make sure you stop by her blog at Books Movies Reviews, Oh My! to see her thoughts as well.

TITLE: Optical Delusion (Mail Order Massacres #2)AUTHOR: Hunter SheaPUBLISHER: Lyrical UndergroundPUBLISHING DATE: August 1, 2017FROM GOODREADS: OPEN YOUR EYES WITH “X-RAY” VISION!Put on a pair of “X-Ray” glasses and things will never look the same! These almost magical specs will make you the hit of the party! Astonishing three-dimensional X-Ray visions of what your friends—and girls—look like under their clothes! And all for just $1.

THE MORE YOU WEAR THEM . . .

Martin Blackstone punishes his son for wasting his allowance on a pair of flimsy cardboard sunglasses X-ray vision . . . yeah, right. Martin tries them on just for the hell of it—and all they do is give him a headache . . .

. . . THE DEEPER YOU’LL SEE.

Until he sees things he can’t possibly be seeing. Glimpses of things on the other side of a wall or beneath someone’s clothing. He wants to believe it’s just his overactive imagination but the “X-Ray” specs actually work. Then the fun novelty becomes a waking nightmare when the glasses burn into his face and he starts seeing horrifying apocalyptic visions no mortal man was ever meant to see. Images that alter his very personality—from a husband and father to a bloodthirsty homicidal maniac . . .

Because sometimes you can see too much.

MY THOUGHTS:"Optical
Delusion" is the second installment in Shea's Mail Order Massacres
novella trilogy and while "Just Add Water" remains my favorite so far,
this one was still very enjoyable and a strong addition to the series.
Martin Blackstone is a hardworking blue-collar worker who enjoys his
time at home, especially if he has a good beer in his hand. His son is
given a pair of cheap x-ray glasses by a friend and when he casually
tosses them aside, Martin gives them a try just for fun. Before long,
Martin is addicted to the glasses. He is initially shocked when he's
able to use them as a voyeur on unsuspecting town women, but soon the
x-ray abilities deepen and the glasses become harder and harder to
remove.

This book is definitely full of blood, gore and is a lot
of fun. The main problem I had is that I despised Martin. However, I'm
sure Shea intended it to be that way because he is in no way some poor
misunderstood character. Throughout the book, I often felt sorry for the
people Martin encountered and although I think he had a decent enough
relationship with both his wife and his son, I think they deserved
better.

"Optical Delusion" is a book which is hard to review
without giving too much away. It's a fast read and any horror lover
would be missing out if they at least didn't give this series a try.
There's one more novella coming up and I already have my copy and am
just waiting for the perfect night to curl up and read it.

20 comments:

I definitely plan to read this one in horror month in October. I'm already setting aside the books I plan to read! Next month is apocalypse month and I'm so ready to dive in and read some EMPs and zombies again!